Apple Partners With Intel To Make 5G iPhone By 2020

According to the report from Fast Company , Apple will release the first iPhone with 5G chip in 2020,  an anonymous source says Apple plans ...

According to the report from Fast Company, Apple will release the first iPhone with 5G chip in 2020,  an anonymous source says Apple plans to use Intel's 8161 baseband chip on the 2020 iPhone product lineup, and Intel will become the exclusive supplier of 5G chips.

The upcoming 8161 chip will be built by Intel's 10nm process. It is said that Intel is currently testing a prototype of the 8161, the 8160 chip, which will be designed to use on the 5G iPhone prototype. Yet, the source also said that Apple was not happy with Intel recently as they could not successfully solve the heat issue and poor battery life of the 8160 chip.

Many wireless carriers, including Verizon and AT&T in the U.S., will initially rely on millimeter-wave spectrum (between 30 gigahertz and 300 Ghz) to connect the first 5G phones. But millimeter-wave signal requires some heavy lifting from the modem chips, our source explains. This causes the release of higher-than-normal levels of thermal energy inside the phone-so much so that the heat can be felt on the outside of the phone.

Although not really satisfied with Intel, Apple did not intend to settle the relationship with Qualcomm and restart the chip supply negotiations. Instead, Apple began contracting with MediaTek as a Plan B, and once Intel couldn't solve the issues, the company will switch to them instead. We should expect the first 5G smartphone coming out next year.

Image Via Business Insider